The present invention relates generally to archery bow accessories and specifically to a stabilizer attachment for an archery bow.
An archery bow moves or vibrates in response to the forces generated upon release of the bow string from its drawn position to fire an arrow. According to well known principles of physics, as the string and arrow move toward the target, the bow tends to move in the opposite direction toward the archer. Similarly, when the bow string reverses direction immediately following departure of the arrow, the bow tends to move in the direction of the target. Such reactive forces have a tendency to cause the bow to tip slightly upwardly and downwardly since the center of mass of the bow is typically located above the archer's grip on the riser. Obviously, any tipping of the bow during release of the arrow undesirably deflects the arrow from its intended trajectory toward the target. Thus, it is desirable to provide an archery bow stabilizer to counteract and minimize the undesirable effects of these physical reactive forces.
One embodiment of the present invention provides an archery bow stabilizer which includes a hollow body adapted for attachment to a standard mounting location provided on the forward facing surface of a bow riser so as to project from the riser toward the target. The body houses a guide rod which also extends toward the target. A movable part is biased into a resting position on the guide rod by a pair of opposing springs. A pair of stabilizer arms connected to the movable part extend outwardly from the movable part through openings in the outer wall of the hollow body. The stabilizer arms are removable so that a variety of paired arms of different weights and sizes may be used interchangeably. The ends of the stabilizer arms are threaded or otherwise adapted to removably receive stabilizer weights.
Before the drawn bow string is released, the movable part is substantially stationary in its resting position on the guide rod under the opposing biasing forces of the springs. When the string is released, the movable part responds to the reactive forces exerted on the bow by moving forward and backward on the guide rod against the biasing force of one or the other of the pair of springs, carrying the stabilizer arms with it through their respective outer wall openings, thereby damping the overall vibrational movement of the bow.
According to another embodiment of the present invention, the movable part includes extensions which project through the outer wall openings to removably receive the stabilizer arms. Additionally, the stabilizer arms are hollow to concentrate the mass of the arms at the stabilizer weights disposed at the distal ends of the arms.
Other features of the present invention will be apparent upon consideration of the following description of exemplary embodiments and the accompanying drawings.